Turkey's Army chief proposes unarmed flights over Aegean Sea
{{date|April 18, 2007}}
[[Image:Aegean Sea map.png|thumb|left|160px|{{w|Aegean Sea}}, between [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]].]]

[[Turkey]]'s Chief of General Staff, General {{w|Yaşar Büyükanıt}}, proposed that [[Greece|Greek]] and Turkish fighters should fly unarmed flights over the {{w|Aegean}}. This follows reports that Greek and Turkish fighters held mock dogfights during {{w|Russia|Russian}} President {{w|Vladimir Putin}}'s visit to {{w|Athens}} last month.

Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos said that Turkish planes were in the air at the time but denied any effort to confront Greek fighters.

Gen. Büyükanıt is in {{w|Thessaloniki}}, northern Greece, where the Conference of the Balkan countries Chiefs of Army Staff takes place, and met his Greek counterpart, Admiral {{w|Panayiotis Chinofotis}}.

Greece's Minister of National Defence {{w|Evangelos Meimarakis}} this morning declared open the Conference which takes place in {{w|Thermi}}, a suburb in eastern Thessaloniki. As Meimarakis said during his opening speech, the dialogue among Balkan countries is very significant; characteristically saying that a dialogue builds bridges.

Gen. Büyükanıt's visit in Greece is his first in the country, after he became chief of the {{w|Turkish Army Forces}}. According to Turkish officials, Gen. Büyükanıt will visit the Turkish Consulate of Thessaloniki which is regarded as the birthplace house of [[Kemal Ataturk]].

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://news.ert.gr/en/4/24609.asp
    |title=Balkan Chiefs of Army Staff Meet in Thessaloniki
    |author=Nasos Bratsos
    |pub=ERT
    |date=April 18, 2006}} 
*{{source|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100019_18/04/2007_82476
    |title=In Brief:Turkish military chief wants planes to be unarmed over the Aegean
    |author=
    |pub=Kathimerini English Edition
    |date=April 18, 2006}} 

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